Scars From The Marionettes
by WiiFan2009
Summary: Menomaru and Tsubaki may have been defeated by Inuyasha, but the emotional scars they placed on Kagome have yet to heal. Inuyasha hears her wake up from a nightmare and comes to her side.


A/N: For anyone who's been waiting for updates to my MegaMan Fanfic, the combination of losing steam and changes to my life schedule have more or less put that project on the backburner. I fully intend to finish it, but it might be a while before i get to updating it again.

In the meantime, Inuyasha has become my new fandom. I had this fic sitting on my computer for a while, and since it's Inuvember I thought it might be a good time to publish it. This takes place not long after the First movie and the Tsubaki arc. I hope it's to everyone's liking!

 **Scars From The Marionettes, Kagome's Nightmare and Inuyasha's Protection**

A muffled scream echoed through the woods as tears leaked from the young priestess's eyes. Her hands were clamped over her mouth in an effort to avoid rousing her friends from slumber. Once she regained enough self control that she was sure that she wouldn't scream or sob, she released her hands from her lips, panting for breath. _That...that dream…_ She glanced around the makeshift camp and did a mental headcount. _Miroku, asleep. Sango, conked out. Shippo, napping like a baby. Good, I didn't wake anyone up._ Kagome sighed in relief; the last thing she wanted was to get everyone fussing about her. _Especially not…_

"Hey! Kagome!" The familiar voice rang through the trees; she didn't need to see his face to know who was watching her.

 _Oh no, how could I forget about Inuyasha…_ She forced a smile on her face and wiped her eyes. Not that it would do any good; the half-demon could smell the scent of her tears from a mile away. "Hi Inuyasha. I'm sorry if I woke you up..." She looked down, guilt mixing in with the fear on her face.

"Keh. I'm awake cuz I wanna be." He caught a glance at one of the tears that had fallen on the ground, and his eyes softened. He jumped down from the branch he was crouched on, landing softly next to her. Forcing a more gentle tone, he asked "Kagome, are you alright? What happened?" She looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes yet her voice refused to speak. "Damn it Kagome, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong!"

A period of silence followed, Inuyasha feeling frustrated with the both of them. He was about to open his mouth again when he heard her mutter "...nightmare"

 _Nightmare?_

He stared as she repeated "I had a nightmare, Inuyasha. I'm sorry; I shouldn't be so weak to let a dream frighten me like that..." The teenage half-demon flashed back to a time not long ago, before he had vanquished Ryukotsusei…

 _Flashback_

The half demon woke from his slumber and was greeted by a sharp pain on his head. Disoriented, he realized that he had fallen out of the tree he had been sleeping in and landed upside down. Muttering curses, he righted himself, wiping his arms of the sticky sweat that clung to his body. _Some nightmare…_

"Inuyasha?"

She walked up to him, clad in her pink pajamas and holding a towel in one hand, the same towel that she had offered just yesterday. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep, Kagome."

Kagome ignored him and kneeled before him, taking the opportunity to wipe his arms of sweat, this time not even giving him a choice in the matter, not that Inuyasha was complaining. The futuristic woman that he initially despised had quickly become his dearest friend and closest confidant. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped in shock at how quickly she had deduced what ailed him. Trying to save face, he glanced away and said "Keh. What makes you think I would?"

"You had one the last time you fell out of a tree at night, the night before Kikyo was resurrected." She looked at him with concern and affection. "What happened, Inuyasha?"

Swallowing his pride, he looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, and murmured "I dreamed that….that I transformed again, and that I..." He swallowed, fighting against the urge to show tears. "That I killed you with my claws."

To avoid showing any more weakness, Inuyasha kept clenching his claws. Kagome looked at him with pity before murmuring "Inuyasha, there's something I haven't told you. It's about your sword..."

 _My...my sword? What does my sword have to do with my dreams?_ He turned to face Kagome, suddenly interested in what she had to say.

"The Tetsusaiga. Holding the sword keeps your demon blood from possessing you. I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I should have told you before, but Myoga begged me not to, and..."

Kagome was cut off by Inuyasha's embrace, her face buried in his neck. No more was said, the two friends comforting each other.

 _End Flashback_

Inuyasha looked at the young girl in front of him, her head bowed and her arms crossed in front of her,giving the appearance that she was shivering. A strong desire to protect her coursed through his veins, and shock at Kagome's uncharacteristic lack of self-confidence. _She doesn't deserve to feel this guilt and shame. She helped me when I was a wreck. I should return the favor...this would be so much easier though if I was human!_ Smiling grimly at his first ever desire to become human, he grasped her hand in his own, making the young priestess blush."You are NOT weak, Kagome." As she tried to turn her head away in embarrassment, Inuyasha grabbed her face with his claws so that she was forced to look into his eyes. "You are strong, stronger than anyone I've met, and you have nothing to be ashamed of." As Kagome gaped at his bold declaration, Inuyasha embraced her softly, clutching her against his frame and burying her head in his haori, urging her "Tell me about it, Kagome. Please tell me what you were dreaming about."

 _Is this a dream?_ She was surprised by the gentleness in his voice; so was he for that matter. And if his kind tone didn't loosen her up, the hug sure did. Touched by his uncharacteristic sweetness and her resolve loosened by the warmth of his proximity, she dropped her plan of insisting that she was fine and spoke while nestling her head against his beating heart, the soothing rhythm making her feel safe enough to start as the half-demon rested his claw against her head..

 _Dream Sequence_

"Where...where am I?" The young priestess looked around, spotting the sleeping Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!" She rushed towards him, but was stopped in her tracks by a strange force. "What...what's going on?"

"Welcome, little wench." A pillar of flames burst to her left, gasping at the figure that emerged from it. "Menomaru! But we..."

"Did you really think we would die so easily, reincarnation of Kikyo?" Shivers ran down her spine as she saw the Dark Priestess emerge in a beam of shadows to her right. "Tsubaki!"

They both raised their palms, and Kagome was covered in a sinister glow, a bow shimmering into her right hand and a lone arrow in her left. Kagome's eyes widened in fearful realization as her body was being manipulated against her will. "NO! I won't..."

"Yes child; you must kill Inuyasha." As the two evil beings began chanting, the glow surrounding Kagome intensified. "KILL, KILL, KILL!"

"NO! I..." But the force of two demonic entities was too strong for even her to resist. She drew back the string, and watched in horror as she was forced to release it, the arrow piercing the slumbering Inuyasha's heart. Kagome screamed as tears streamed from her eyes…

 _End Dream_

By the end of her recounting, Kagome resembled a five year old more than she did a teenage priestess. She had gone from serenely depressed to panickedly breathing, to teary eyed and barely able to continue talking, to finally full out crying as she lost her self-control and the salty scent of her tears assaulted Inuyasha's senses. Inuyasha had tried squeezing her hand and rubbing his thumb across her palm in order to prevent her emotional maelstrom, but it was in vain. Terror and shame written across her face, she buried herself into his Fire Rat in an attempt to make her memories of her former marionettes go away. She looked to Inuyasha like the scared child she felt she was, and for the briefest of moments he saw himself as a pup in Kagome's place. _I can't mess this up. What do I do? What do I say?_

Internally panicking, Inuyasha embraced her tighter with the arm wrapped around her waist while moving his other hand under her bottom to lift her into his lap. Once he successfully moved her into place, he moved his hand back to her hair and began rocking her in his lap while shaking in anger at the vanquished demon and dark priestess responsible for tormenting and terrorizing Kagome even after their deaths. _Damn Menomaru, Damn Tsubaki. I'll steal Tenseiga, bring them back and kill them all over again for how they tortured and scarred Kagome, and reduced her to this!_

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it I swear Inuyasha! I know I deserve it, but please don't hate me!" Her repeated cries of apology and her begging for forgiveness forced him out of his internal tirade.

 _Hate her? She's afraid I could...hate her?_ The very thought made him shake as he watched the whimpering woman in his lap. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down for Kagome's sake. _One of us needs to be the calm one here and since Kagome's the emotional wreck right now, that leaves me. Damn, I can slay demons and evil humans no problem, but pit me against emotions and I'm completely lost!_

He wove his hand through her raven hair as he continuously caressed the back of her head and down her shivering spine in an attempt to soothe her, wishing he could just swing Tetsusaiga and make her terror go away. But to his frustration, Kagome continued to tremble and sob in fear, continuing her muffled apologies while she buried herself in his haori. It seemed that this particular night terror would take a lot more healing than her test anxiety. _What should I do? Should I wake Sango? Maybe another girl can...No, no, fear isn't a girl problem. What about her mother? We're not far from the well, and she was able to comfort Kagome after she saw me with Kikyo. No, that won't work either; she's never heard or seen of Menomaru or Tsubaki. Even if I could convince Kagome to let me carry her through the well, her mother wouldn't understand half of what went on._ Inuyasha sighed before growling in frustration. _Boy mom, what would you do if you were taking care of Kagome?_ As Inuyasha continued to try to comfort her, he flashed back to his time as a pup when his mother was still alive…

 _Flashback_

A tearful Inuyasha woke up in the small futon in his room. Stumbling, he wandered into what he considered his safe haven; his mother's bedroom. Softly he tugged on his mother's yukata. "Mama! Mama!"

Tired but alert to her son's cries, Izayoi reached to her son and placed him in her lap, his back pressed against her front. "What's wrong, my little inu?"

"I...I dreamed that those nobles came and called me half-breed, then they kept hitting me and saying that I was getting what was coming to me!"

"Inuyasha..." As she slowly rocked him, Izayoi assured him "Don't listen to them; not even in your dreams. You are a kind soul, and anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about." Inuyasha's tears ceased, and Izayoi hummed a lullaby, making Inuyasha droopy until he surrendered to slumber in his mother's arms.

 _End Flashback_

 _Thanks Mom! Well, here goes nothing…_ Inuyasha took a deep breath, stopped his rocking, and asked "Kagome, do you remember what I told you when we were racing through the forest to find Tsubaki?"

"N...no, I was kind of out of it so my memory's a little faint..." She admitted meekly, glancing away from the half-demon.

He responded by stroking her cheek with his thumb while wiping away her tears and reminding her "I told you that you didn't shoot that arrow. That it wasn't your fault. That hasn't changed at all. Kagome..." He grasped her shoulder and angled her chin so that she was forced to look at him. His heart ached at seeing her eyes red and puffy; to him it was a sign that he had failed to protect her. "What happened during those times wasn't like with Kikyo. She legitimately tried to kill me because she thought I betrayed her." The young half-demon smiled as he rubbed her back. "But both of us know that we would never betray one another like that. So don't go thinking you're not strong because of that. It's all in the past, you eventually overcame them, and I never blamed you for a moment. Not against Menomaru, not against Tsubaki, not ever, wench."

Overcome with emotion, Kagome's sobs began anew, her grip tightening around her guardian half-demon. Despite their renewal, Inuyasha knew that these tears had to be shed for her to move on. Deciding to pick up where he left off, Inuyasha resumed rocking the young priestess as she buried her head against his heart, craving the soft rhythm that made her feel safe. _It's okay, Kagome. I won't let them touch you._

"I...I'm scared, Inuyasha. I'm a useless wench, and I only got you hurt. I'm so scared that I won't be able to protect you, and scared that I'll only be a detriment to you!"

Inuyasha thought back to their early days when they had first met,and every insult he had ever called her in an effort to distance himself rang in his ears. _Weak, annoying, I don't mean any of those anymore! This is all my fault. If only I hadn't been such a cruel jerk back then. What I wouldn't give for a sit right now…_ Desperate to get the tough and fiery woman he had sworn to protect back from this terrified shell, Inuyasha rubbed her back to comfort her while lowering his head until she could feel his breath tickling her ear and cooing sweet words of encouragement in her ear. "You are not useless, koishii. I wasn't lying when I said that I need you with me. I've relied on your help more times than I can count, and I wouldn't have even gotten off of that tree if it wasn't for you." He looked down at Kagome, regretting every time he had gotten mad and insulted her to push her away, vowing _I'll never call you a wench again, Kagome._

 _Koishii? What happened to wench?_ Kagome sniffled and looked up at her angelic half-demon while murmuring "I'm still scared. Every time I try to sleep, they're there trying to make me kill you!"

Inuyasha's face went white at her admission. _Every time? This happens every time? Why didn't you say anything? And why didn't I notice until now?_ "Why didn't you tell someone, Kagome? You could have told Sango or your mother, or...Keh! I admit I'm not the best with words, but I would have listened to what was on your mind..."

Kagome sniffled and admitted "My mom only has the faintest idea of what I do in this era. Sango's great and all, but she didn't see me shoot you, so she couldn't truly understand. And..."

Kagome hyperventilated for a moment, causing Inuyasha to stop rocking while he rubbed her back to get her calm. "Breathe, Kagome. Take a deep breath; I'm right here." The young priestess took several deep breaths as Inuyasha stared at her intently, keeping silent while he moved her hand over to one of his ears. _She seems to like touching them for whatever reason, so I'll let her if it makes her happy.._.

This approach seemed to work., so Inuyasha relaxed as she looked less frantic and a touch more rosy. "I know it's stupid and irrational, but I was ashamed of myself. I thought I was weak by allowing them to control me like that, and I was afraid that if I told you I was dreaming about that, then you might consider me not worth your time and send me home for good! You've done it before..." Kagome felt lower than dirt for saying that last part, and it didn't take much for Inuyasha to realize she was referencing the time when he forced her down the well out of fear for her safety after Naraku and Sesshomaru briefly joined forces. _Great work Kagome! He holds you and gives you his shoulder to cry on and rocks you and even lets you touch his cute doggy ears and how do you repay him? By practically accusing him of abandoning you. Some friend you are..._

By this point, she had run out of tears, but still cried into the palms that were now cradling her face. _So that's what she was worried about? Kagome, I couldn't do that again even if I wanted to!_ Stroking her cheeks, Inuyasha smiled to show he wasn't offended by the comment before he kissed the tip of her nose followed by kissing the tear tracks under her eyes and reassured the blushing girl "It's okay, Kagome. I never should have forced you back home, but I've learned from that mistake. I'm never going to abandon you again, and they can't hurt either of us anymore."

Kagome gasped at his solemn promise. "So you...you don't hate me? For...for what I said?" Kagome felt silly for asking, but she needed to know so that she could put her guilt behind her.

Inuyasha shook his head in confirmation, hoping to banish the ridiculous notion from her head once and for all. "I could never hate you, Kagome. Don't worry about it; Kami knows I've said my fair share of ill-thought things, so you're definitely entitled to one of your own." Unable to form words in response to his statement of forgiveness, Kagome merely whimpered into his palms. Inuyasha moved his hands to rub her back, sensing how tired and droopy she was. Kagome continued to whimper against him, her vocabulary severely limited by her emotional overload. Sensing how fatigued and worn-out the young priestess was, Inuyasha murmured in her ear "You can sleep now, Kagome; I'm alive and I'm right here. Shh, Shh..." Touched by the words that Inuyasha had previously only said to himself, she buried her head against his chest once more, sobbing and hiccuping against him, albeit more quietly and calmly. Rocking her once more, he began humming the lullaby that his mother used on him as a pup, feeling her sobs against his soaked haori weaken as he patted her back in rhythm with the tune.

 _That melody...it's so pretty..._ Kagome thought as she wrapped her arms around the half-demon and her hands slid up his spine. _I didn't know Inuyasha could sing..._ The lullaby coupled with Inuyasha's rocking motions caused the young priestess's eyes to droop as her tears dried. Eventually, the sobs subsided, and Inuyasha's ears picked up Kagome's light snores, indicating she was asleep. She had snuggled against him, a smile tugging on her lips as she listened to the beating of his heart, her hands having reached up and latched onto his mane of white hair, gently enough to not hurt him, but firm enough to make clear that he was her anchor. "Protect me."

Softly smiling in victory at having rocked Kagome to sleep and admiring her at last peaceful form, he held her tightly against him before jumping up to a sturdy branch, slumping them both against the trunk. The half-demon wiped the tear tracks off of her now serene face and kissed her forehead, nestling his face in her hair before he joined her in slumber, enjoying the feeling of her hair tickling his nose and her hands resting on his ears. _I meant it when I said that you were the strongest person I had ever met, even more than Kikyo._ _I promise I'll protect you Kagome. Whether from demons, humans, or nightmares, I'll chase them all away. Sweet dreams, Kagome._

Of course, he would pretend it didn't happen in the morning, scoff at Miroku's inevitable teasing and for all intents and purposes revert to the irritable half-demon they were all used to. But that didn't matter; to Inuyasha, he was content with the knowledge that he could and would protect Kagome from her fears and insecurities when they didn't have an audience. And to Kagome, she took comfort in the fact that the aggressive man she fell in love with did indeed have a sweet side that could cry to when she needed it, that he was willing to expose it to her if she only asked for it. That by itself made all the future insults and secret meetups with Kikyo that much more bearable, causing Kagome to grin as she nestled herself closer to Inuyasha's heart, cherishing the time she could cuddle with him.


End file.
